nincompoop
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Earlier (1676) nicompoop, possibly from Latin non compos mentis (“not of sound mind”), although the lack of the second n in the early form and the original meaning of “fop” cast doubt on this origin. Although this theory has support, there is no evidence of the word being used until the 1900s. An alternative though unsubstantiated theory is that the expression was from as late as the post-World War II years, during which common French expressions were often Americanized ("à tout à l'heure" yielding "tootaloo", for example). Thus, "nincompoop" may have been a corruption of "ne compte plus", a French phrase meaning "no longer of any consequence." This theory has been discredited, it being argued that the word predated such events. Support for this notion include similar appropriations and the similar phonetics, and this support stands apart from the historical events out of which this theory arises; another support indicates that although the word is said to have pre-dated WWII, no such usage has been undisputedly documented.
[edit] Pronunciation
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Audio (US) (file)
[edit] Noun
nincompoop (plural nincompoops)
- A silly or foolish person.
- 1905: Baroness Emmuska Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel [1]
- No wonder that Chauvelin's spies had failed to detect, in the apparently brainless nincompoop, the man whose reckless daring and resourceful ingenuity had baffled the keenest French spies...
- 1905: Baroness Emmuska Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel [1]
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Synonyms
- (foolish person): dunderhead, fop, fool, imbecile
- See also Wikisaurus:fool
